Cardinal Timothy Dolan urged the US bishops to consider re-instituting Friday abstinence on the opening day of their plenary meeting in Baltimore yesterday (full text, video from 3:00). Cardinal George Pell of Sydney has said the Church will co-operate with the royal commission into clerical abuse ordered by Australian prime minister Julia Gillard (PDF of bishops' statement). Benedict XVI will issue a fourth encyclical next year dedicated to faith, the Vatican confirmed yesterday. The Zambian government has revoked a deportation order against a Rwandan priest who criticised the gulf between rich and poor in the country, following a protest from the Catholic Church. Kathy Schiffer says that a landmark meeting between American bishops and Catholic bloggers "was a blast". Fr Thomas Reece argues that "the US Catholic bishops took a beating at the polls" last week. And the Mail Online captures the surreal sight of tourists swimming outside St Mark's Basilica after high tides and heavy rain swamped Venice. Follow me on Twitter @lukecoppen for updates throughout the day.